Clabk mills



NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

CLARK MILLS, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

MODE OF TAKING CASTS FROM THE FACES OF LIVING PERSONS.

. Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 47,121, dated April 4, 1865. v

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CLARK MILLS, of the District of Columbia, county of Washington, have invented a new and Improved Mode of Taking Casts of the Living Face and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof.

The nature of my invention consistsin plac ing the sitter in an upright and natural posi tion, as it has been found that the expression of the face changes when the head is thrown back, as in the old mode of taking, which was done in the following manner: The person was laid down on his back, his head placed in a box, the end of the boX being hollowed out so as fit the neck, quills were put in the nose to enable the person to breath, a string was laid on the face, and the boX filled with plasterof-paris. lVhen the plaster was sufficiently hard, the string was drawn through, which cut the plaster, so as to allow the mold to open and let the head out.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe the mode of using it.

The person sits in anatural and comfortable position, in order to assume a favorable expression of countenance. Then, combing the hair from the front evenly and smoothly back, (wetting it if too dry to lay to the scalp,)

an elastic cap is then drawn tightly over the head, leaving the forehead and ears out. The cap is then covered with a composition onequarter of an inch in thickness. We now cover the face (with any composition that will not slide off, and that will not compress the muscles, and that will harden rapidly) with a thin layer of the composition. WVhen sufficiently hard, the thickness is increased suffi- 'ciently for a mold to cast in. We now remove the mold from the head. To remove the face the parts of the mold that penetrate the ears are broken and taken off separately. The person then leans forward and works the muscles of the face and the mold drops off.

\ The different parts of the mold are then joined together, the inside oiled, and a cast made with plaster-of-paris. When the plaster is sufficiently hard, the mold that covered the face is broken off, the cast coming ofi with whatever expression the person had at the time.

, WVhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

The mode of process as herein described.

CLARK MILLS.

WVitnesses: JOHN S. HOLLINGSHEAD, Z. 13. BROOKE. 

